Injured Panthers' Sam Bennett Returns to Practice, May Play Against Kraken on Saturday

Bennett returns to practice after October 5 injury, bolstering Panthers' forward line and potentially joining recovering teammates Aleksander Barkov and Dmitry Kulikov in challenging a Kraken team off to a slow start.

Panthers' center Sam Bennett, who scored 44 goals over the past two seasons, returns to practice following an injury on October 5, expected to significantly boost the Panthers' offense if confirmed to play against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Last season, when Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Carter Verhaeghe, who collectively outscored opponents 23-12, skated together; this season, without Bennett, both Tkachuk and Verhaeghe's performance were affected with Tkachuk scoring no goals and Verhaeghe scoring only three so far.
The Panthers are also expecting the return of captain Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who have both been battling the flu; two other defensive players, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, remain on injured reserve.
Panther's goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, having rested in their previous game where backup Anthony Stolarz led the Panthers to a 3-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks, is likely to return in their game against the Kraken.
The opponent team, Seattle Kraken, despite having made remarkable progress in the previous season where they went from 60 points as an expansion franchise to 100 points, experienced a slow start this season, losing six of their first eight games.

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